The 2018 Pennsylvania gubernatorial election is still 22 months away, but it is shaping up to what may be 2018’s most important political story. Pennsylvania Senator Scott Wagner hasn’t officially announced that he is running for Governor, but the gubernatorial hopeful has literally began to surround himself with those associated to Betsy DeVos.
The Pittsburgh Post Gazette reports that Wagner has hired John Kennedy from conservative group the Citizens Alliance of Pennsylvania. Citizens Alliance of PA is an organization dedicated at pushing privatization of public education, public pension reform and right to work. Over the past three election cycles, CAP has recieved most of its money from Students First, an organization funded by a group of Pennsylvania hedge fund bankers and Betsy DeVos’ American Federation of Children.
Then just a couple of weeks after the election, the Pennsylvania Senator told supporters in a campaign email about his lunch with Betsy DeVos at the Republican Governor’s Association meeting in Florida. Wagner told his supporters:
There were three Governors who participated on the education discussion panel along with two other highly knowledgeable experts on education. One of the panel participants was Betsy DeVos – who is the Chairman of the American Federation for Children.
After the panel discussion Betsy joined our table for lunch. Very simply put, Betsy DeVos is one sharp woman. She is exceptionally knowledgeable on public school education and she is full of cutting edge ideas. We exchanged business cards and I intended to follow up with Betsy to discuss ideas for Pennsylvania’s public schools.
This race may be one of the most important races in the country because of Scott Wagner’s disdain for unions and the history Betsy and Dick DeVos have in backing right to work initiatives in Rust Belt states. The race may be ways away, but it something to start paying attention to.